Control

Control is an action-adventure title from 2019 that stresses both the CPU and GPU heavily, particularly with its physics-driven environments and real-time ray tracing effects. The benchmark data for the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 paired with the AMD Radeon 8050S reveals a system that is capable of smooth 1080p play but begins to struggle as resolution and quality settings increase. The measured frames per second (FPS) across the twelve tested configurations show a clear performance hierarchy, with the combination ranking in the 73rd percentile among all tested combos in this specific game.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo based on the measured data?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the average frame rate stays above 60 FPS across all tested settings. At 2560x1440, the average drops to 48-87 FPS depending on settings, and at 3840x2160 it falls to 32-59 FPS, indicating that 1080p is the most consistent experience for this hardware.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High in terms of average FPS?

A: Across all three resolutions, the Ultra preset consistently delivers lower average FPS than High. At 1920x1080, the drop is from 73 to 63 FPS; at 2560x1440, it falls from 55 to 48 FPS; and at 3840x2160, it decreases from 37 to 32 FPS. This represents a reduction of 10-14% depending on the resolution.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The GPU appears to be the primary bottleneck. The Radeon 8050S has a benchmark percentile of 89, but the frame rate drops dramatically with resolution increases, which is a classic sign of GPU limitation. The CPU, with a 95th percentile ranking, has ample headroom, as evidenced by the smaller FPS delta between Low and Medium settings compared to the larger drop when moving to Ultra.

Q: What is the comboRankInGame for this specific hardware pairing?

A: The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 with the AMD Radeon 8050S ranks 2127 out of 2888 tested combinations for Control. This places it in the middle-to-upper portion of the pack, indicating it is a capable but not top-tier setup for this particular title.

Q: Does the 8050S perform better or worse than the AMD Radeon RX 7600M?

A: According to the nearestRivals data, the Radeon 8050S has an average benchmark score of 62108. The AMD Radeon RX 7600M has an average score of 63775, which is 2.6% higher. This indicates the RX 7600M holds a slight performance edge in general compute benchmarks.

Q: What is the frame rate range for the Medium preset at 2560x1440?

A: The measured data for the Medium preset at 2560x1440 shows an average FPS of 62, with a minimum of 53 FPS and a maximum of 71 FPS. This provides a stable experience with minimal frame time variance.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon 8050S is an integrated graphics processor based on the RDNA 3.5 architecture, manufactured on a 4 nm process. It features 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. The GPU operates with a base clock of 1295 MHz and a boost clock of 2800 MHz, which directly influences the raw compute throughput. The data shows a peak pixel rate of 179.2 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 358.4 GTexel/s, figures that are relevant when considering how the GPU handles the visual effects in Control.

In terms of memory, the 8050S uses "System Shared" memory, meaning it relies on the CPU's LPDDR5X memory rather than dedicated VRAM. The memory bus is also listed as "System Shared" with bandwidth that is "System Dependent". This is a critical factor for a game like Control, which is known for its complex textures and particle effects. The lack of dedicated high-bandwidth memory likely contributes to the significant FPS drops observed at higher resolutions and settings, as the shared memory bandwidth becomes a constraint.

The GPU's performance in benchmarks places it in the 89th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 62108. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M, is nearly identical in score at 61896, a delta of only 0.3%. This suggests that the 8050S is a solid performer for an integrated solution. However, in the context of Control's measured FPS, the GPU's role is clear: it provides a playable experience at lower resolutions but lacks the headroom for 4K gaming, as the average FPS at 3840x2160 on Ultra is a mere 32 FPS. The architecture supports DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4, which are relevant for modern game features.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and expected decline as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the High preset, the average FPS drops from 73 at 1080p to 55 at 1440p and finally to 37 at 4K. This represents a 24.7% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 32.7% drop from 1440p to 4K. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the increased pixel count directly translates to a higher workload for the Radeon 8050S.

Looking at the Low preset, the scaling is slightly different. The average FPS is 116 at 1080p, 87 at 1440p, and 59 at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is 25%, which is similar to the High preset. However, the drop from 1440p to 4K is 32.2%, slightly less pronounced. This suggests that at lower settings, the game is still heavily reliant on the GPU, but the reduced shader complexity allows for a more efficient use of the shared memory bandwidth.

The Medium preset provides the most detailed data, with min and max FPS values. At 1080p, the average is 82 FPS with a range of 70-94. At 1440p, the average falls to 62 FPS with a range of 53-71. At 4K, the average is 42 FPS with a range of 36-48. The frame time consistency, as indicated by the min/max spread, remains relatively stable across resolutions, suggesting that the game does not suffer from severe stuttering, but the overall performance ceiling is lowered. This data strongly implies that the limiting component at higher resolutions is the GPU, as the CPU's performance is less likely to be the bottleneck when the frame rate is below 60 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS, the optimal experience for this combo is at 1920x1080 with the High preset, which yields an average of 73 FPS. This strikes a balance between visual quality and smoothness, providing a frame rate well above the 60 FPS threshold that is often considered the target for action games. The Ultra preset at 1080p drops to 63 FPS, which is still playable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes, as the minimum FPS is not recorded for this configuration.

For users with 1440p displays, the High preset is again the recommended choice, with an average of 55 FPS. While this is below 60 FPS, it is a more playable experience than the Ultra preset, which averages 48 FPS. The Low preset at 1440p achieves 87 FPS but at a significant visual cost. The Medium preset at 1440p, with an average of 62 FPS and a minimum of 53, also presents a viable option if some visual fidelity can be sacrificed for a smoother experience.

At 4K resolution, none of the presets achieve a consistent 60 FPS. The Low preset comes closest with an average of 59 FPS, but this represents a substantial compromise in visual quality. The Medium preset averages 42 FPS, which is borderline playable for a slower-paced game but may feel sluggish in combat. The High and Ultra presets at 4K, with averages of 37 and 32 FPS respectively, are not recommended for a smooth experience. Therefore, the data suggests that 4K gaming is not a realistic target for this hardware in Control, and users should prioritize 1080p or 1440p with High settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following breakdown details the exact measured average FPS for each resolution and settings combination. The data is derived directly from the measuredFps array.

At 1920x1080, the performance is as follows:

• Low: 116 FPS average.
• Medium: 82 FPS average, with a minimum of 70 and a maximum of 94.
• High: 73 FPS average.
• Ultra: 63 FPS average.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates decrease:

• Low: 87 FPS average.
• Medium: 62 FPS average, with a minimum of 53 and a maximum of 71.
• High: 55 FPS average.
• Ultra: 48 FPS average.

At 3840x2160, the performance is significantly lower:

• Low: 59 FPS average.
• Medium: 42 FPS average, with a minimum of 36 and a maximum of 48.
• High: 37 FPS average.
• Ultra: 32 FPS average.

The data indicates a consistent pattern: each step up in settings at a given resolution costs roughly 9-15 FPS in average performance. The transition from Low to Medium is generally smaller than the transition from High to Ultra, suggesting that the Ultra preset has a disproportionately high performance cost. The min and max FPS values for the Medium preset show that the frame rate variance is consistent, with a spread of about 18-24 FPS across all resolutions.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Strix Halo. It has a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, with a TDP of 55 W. The CPU features a substantial 64 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB of L2 cache per core. This is a high-end mobile processor, as reflected in its benchmark scores, which place it in the 95th percentile of all CPUs.

In terms of raw compute, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 35314 and a single-core score of 2044. Its Geekbench multicore score is 20992. These scores are impressive for a mobile chip, suggesting that the CPU is not a bottleneck in gaming scenarios. The nearestRivals data shows it is only 1.7% behind the Intel Core i9-14900K in average benchmark score, a desktop processor with a much higher power envelope. This indicates that the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 has significant headroom for gaming.

In the context of Control, the CPU's role is to handle the game's physics and AI calculations. Given the high core count and clock speeds, the CPU is likely not the limiting factor in the measured FPS. The primary evidence for this is the resolution scaling data: if the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rates would not drop as significantly with increasing resolution. The fact that FPS scales down consistently with pixel count points to the GPU as the constraint. The CPU's robust single-thread performance, as indicated by the Cinebench R15 single-core score of 316, is also crucial for maintaining frame pacing in a game like Control.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 combined with the AMD Radeon 8050S has a comboRankInGame of 2127 out of 2888 tested combinations for Control. This places the setup in the 73rd percentile of all tested combos, meaning it outperforms roughly 73% of the other hardware configurations tested. This is a respectable ranking, indicating that the system is well above average for this game.

However, the ranking also highlights that there is a significant portion of hardware that performs better. The GPU's 89th percentile ranking and the CPU's 95th percentile ranking suggest that the combo's overall standing is limited by the GPU. The CPU is a top-tier performer, but the integrated Radeon 8050S, while strong for an iGPU, cannot match the performance of discrete graphics cards that would be present in higher-ranked combos. The data shows that the combo is capable of delivering a good 1080p experience, but it falls short of the performance required for high-refresh-rate or 4K gaming. The ranking of 2127 out of 2888 is a clear indicator that this is a mid-to-upper-tier configuration, well-suited for mainstream gaming but not for enthusiast-level performance.